1
While many people may consider greed to be the driving force that catalyse the actions of our main protagonist’s, I believe that family dysfunction pushes the characters through their individual plot lines. This is present in my chosen texts; John B.Kean‘s “Sive”(S) Gabriel Salvatore’s “I’m not scared” (INS), and Jenifer Johnston’s “How many miles to Babylon” (HMMB). Sive lives in a family constantly under stress from there close proximity and surface deep hatred, in stark contrast Alec’s family dysfunction is buried as deep as possible with passive aggressive words and actions being the ammo of their distrust. Quiet similarly Micheales family is ordinary on the surface but an absentee father builds pressure on a mother who is forced to be the only voice of discipline in the children’s life razing the father to an undeserving pedestal.
2
John B.Keane’s S gives us our first look into a character in the position of a mother. While Mena occupies this role it is difficult to all her motherly. It is clear from Sive’s first apperence in the play of Mena’s hatred of her. When sive enters, late from school and having already eaten she is set upon by a frustrated Mena who exclaims “you’ll come to no good wither, like the one who went before you!” Mena even doe she is Sive’s guardian targets the death of her mother using the death or Sive’s mother as a form of mockery. Sive has been forced to grow up in a home with no really maternal influence leaving the young protagonist week and vulnerable. (it also can’t be overlooked that Mena is an anagram for Mean). (Interesting!!)
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C
C
In contrast Johnston’s HMMB gives us a more refined mother which unfortunaly for the family is only skin deep. Alec’s mother lives a life of regret, she married young and for money instead of love. In an attempt to get back at her unloving husband with her passive aggressive tendencies. This hatred of her husband not only ruined her marriage but has severely damaged her son. Eh...